Conservative Shropshire MP could lose whip after extraordinary defence of Keir Starmer
A Shropshire MP admits he may lose the Conservative whip after an attack on his own Tory leader.
MPs were responding to a statement read out by PM Sir Keir Starmer on the recent G7 and NATO summits in the Commons on Thursday (June 26).
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said that Sir Keir Starmer was an "irrelevance" and was no longer a strategic leader on the world stage.
Responding to the Prime Minister, Mrs Badenoch said: “This is a weak statement from a weak Prime Minister which can be characterised in two words: ‘noises off’. In his statement the Prime Minister said ‘we urge Iran and Israel to honour the ceasefire’. He said ‘we are using every diplomatic levers to support this effort’.
"What diplomatic levers? Are they the same levers they’re using with his backbench rebels? Is he asking them to please play nice?
“Let’s be honest, nobody cares what this Prime Minister thinks - and why should they when he doesn’t even know what he thinks? And clearly nobody cares what he thinks because he was not involved.
"We used to be a strategic player on the global stage, advancing Britain’s interests with confidence, and now we are on the sidelines.”
Mrs Badenoch accused the Government of being out of the loop with Israel and the US over events in the last fortnight. She said: “Over the last few weeks historic events unfolded in the Middle East and and at every stage, Britain has been out of step with the US and out of the loop with Israel.”
She added: “This is a Government that doesn’t know what it’s doing.”
She also claimed that Sir Keir had only attended the summits to “avoid PMQs”.
Sir Keir told the Tory leader she was “unserious”, adding: “There has never been a more important time to work with our allies, and to be absolutely serious in our response. That response was unserious.
“To suggest that at a time like this that the Prime Minister attending a G7 summit and the Nato summit is avoiding PMQs is unserious.”
However, in a shock move, Conservative MP for the Wrekin, Mark Pritchard, leapt to the PM's defence, admitting it might cost him the Parliamentary whip.
Speaking from the opposition benches, Mr Pritchard said: “Whilst we may disagree on the detail, can I agree with the PM that as far as possible it is better to keep partisan politics out of national security issues.
"And who knows, I may get the whip withdrawn for saying that but so be it - there are things that go beyond party politics.
"So can I thank the Prime Minister for all his hard work in the national securitiy interests in this country."
